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Social Media Marketing for the Small Business (Part 1)

Editor’s Note: This is part 1 in our Social Media Marketing Series.

Social Media Marketing RocksSocial Media Marketing for the Small Business (Part 1)

So you have a business that sells something, widgets, gym memberships, washing machines from the Walla Walla Washing Machine Company, you have your thing you sell. And of course you want people to buy it. You have heard Facebook is this amazing place to post stuff and hope people see it and maybe just maybe if someone sees your post you will sell something. Or maybe you are supposed to be on Twitter, yeah, that must be where you are supposed to say amazing things in 140 characters or less and have people read your Tweets, visit your site, and buy something. Or is it LinkedIn, or Instagram, or maybe its Snapchat. Yeah, they sell stuff there, right?rnrnOkay, yeah, sort of, not really, but kind of. First, Facebook is a great place to post content but if you are a business, you will be hard pressed to get any traction with out paying some money (more on that in a future post). Basically Facebook has tweaked their “secret sauce” to make sure you aren’t getting something for nothing. Only if others share you stuff do you get any chance of traction. But how do you get people to share your stuff if they don’t even see it because Facebook buries it like the second page of a Google Search result.

The 80/20 Rule

So how does one get exposure for their business? It is tricky but doable. First remember the 80/20 rule. 80% of your postings on any social network should be information that benefits your target audience or at least entertains them and gives them something to like but even better share. 20% of your posts can actually be able your business and what you offer. Why? Well, like sales pitch, we get bored quick if you keep hitting us with ads but we are forgiving if you are busy posting useful or interesting things. So an ad every once in a while isn’t a problem. Great, so how do I get started?

 

Account Names Matter

First you need to decide on an account name. This is like naming your first born child. It has to be a name that won’t get them ridiculed in school and that you won’t go your whole life wishing you could change. In other words, once you set it you need to be able to stick with it. Twitter has a fourteen character limit on screen names. And you want to be able to use this same name on every social media you sign up for. This is the name that represents your brand. Say you are representing Joe’s Pool Hall. Well, it might make good sense to use @joespoolhall as your screen name on Twitter, Instagram, Google Plus, Snapchat, and Facebook. But notice it could be misread as joe spool hall. Does that matter? Maybe but probably not. But be aware of words inside of words when you put all your words together. You may want to do a little research before you fall in love with a username. For example, you would not believe how many sites there are that are variations on Faith and Technology. I didn’t know and if I had researched it I might have gone with a different domain name.

[clickToTweet tweet=”While a rose with any other name would smell just as sweet, this isn’t true of websites.” quote=”While a rose with any other name would smell just as sweet, this isn’t true of websites.”]

Check Out Part 2 of the Series.

Christian | Father | Tech Evangelist | Author | Public Speaker | Future TEDx speaker |WordPress Aficionado * I am the author of "WordPress: Setup to Website". I love all things tech and gadgets and I probably have an opinion about it which some people seek out. Follow @aroyrichardson